During his Wednesday press conference at the Super Bowl in Miami, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he hasn’t thought about the possibility of retirement.
“One thing I’ve learned is that your work is never done. There are always things to do,” Goodell said, via Pro Football Talk. “I haven’t thought about retiring. It’s not on my agenda. We have too much to do.
“That day is probably closer than it was yesterday.”
Goodell did, however, say that a succession plan will be important moving forward, but he’s still “100 percent committed to this job.”
“Succession will be an important part of it, but I haven’t thought about retiring,” Goodell said, per Albert Breer. “I’m not focused on that at all, I’m 100 percent committed to this job.”
A few weeks ago, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that there has been “no serious movement” towards finding a successor to Goodell. High-ranking sources with NFL teams told La Canfora that they believe there could be a push form ownership to retain Goodell longer than some thought.
Prior reports said Goodell could finish up the next round of negotiations regarding the CBA and the television deals before stepping aside.
However, La Canfora spoke with several sources this past week who would be surprised if Goodell doesn’t stay for at least the next deal.
The NFL has made progress on a new CBA and owners are reportedly excited about the next TV contracts. La Canfora says that even some of Goodell’s biggest ownership detractors have praised the job he’s done with these negotiations.
“The bottom line is these owners want him to stay,” a league source tells La Canfora. “There isn’t anyone being groomed to take over and they like where things stand. Even Jerry approves of where the game is, where it seems to be going.”
We’ll have more regarding Goodell as the news is available.
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